Here goes!

Well, here goes!

Thanks to Moe, N4CQW, I now have the means to "blog." I have read many
blogs before, but this will be the first time to be on the other side of
the keyboard. So, what am I going to write about?

Most likely, you already know me or know of me. You know that I have
several repeaters on the air in East Tennessee. In fact, you probably found
this off of a link from my repeater website. I have had a repeater on the
air since 1981 and was maintaining them a couple of years before that.
Repeaters have been my "niche" in ham radio since shortly after I got my
license. I bought a 12-channel crystal-controlled radio in 1974, and I was
hooked. Not too long after that, I got the chance to meet George Shaver,
K4HXD. He's the fellow that put the very first two-meter repeater on the
air in East Tennessee. George was one of the first people that I looked up
to in ham radio. Later, we worked together and become good friends.

What is a repeater? Well, in its purest form, it's a piece of equipment
that receives and retransmits radio signals. But to me, it's more than
that. It's a community of ham radio operators. Most repeaters have a
"personality." It's a place to rag-chew, conduct nets, meet new hams, and
find help when you have an emergency or urgent need. I'm proud of the
service that my repeaters provide, and I'm equally as pleased that hams
like yourself will use them, enjoy them, and call them you "home" repeater
while you are on the air. Its a priviledge for me to put the repeaters on
the air for you to enjoy. I hope you will enjoy my effort to tell you a
little about them and why I'm so proud of them.

Please check back regularly. I'll try to make it worth your trouble. If you
like what you see, tell your fellow hams.

73 de Tim WB4GBI